By Lauren Gregory
The Chattanooga Times Free Press
CHATTANOOGA — Chattanooga Police Department employees are referred to assistance services before they are terminated for performance or behavior-related problems, according to department policy.
“We try to salvage our people rather than sacrifice them, if that’s possible,” said Lon Eilders, the department’s policy and accreditation manager. “It’s hard to set any hard and fast line in the sand and say, all right, beyond this point, you’re fired — beyond criminal conduct.”
Police Capt. Jeannie Snyder is working full time in her regular capacity as the department’s grants and special projects supervisor after having been hospitalized at least three times since January 2007.
She was found collapsed at her home on Jan. 12, 2007, after missing a meeting. She also reportedly suffered from a “toxic reaction to prescribed medication” on Sept. 26 of last year, when a large-scale manhunt was launched to find her in a wooded area of Marion County, Tenn., after she did not show up for work. She stepped down from assistant chief to captain and returned to work after a six-week leave of absence.
And on Feb. 7, Cobb County, Ga., police reported having to detain Capt. Snyder at a Marietta mall before taking her to a hospital for treatment for a possible drug overdose.
Mr. Eilders said the department maintains an “early assistance system” in hopes of staying ahead of personnel problems. He cited a policy that states supervisory personnel “are responsible for continuously monitoring personnel performance and behavior and shall be alert to behavioral indicators that suggest emotional problems.”
Indicators include “irrational or bizarre thoughts or actions,” “unexplained changes in work habits” and “indications of alcohol or drug abuse,” the policy states.
The employee can be ordered to see a mental health professional, who will “advise the agency’s chief executive of the officer’s fitness for duty and provide recommendations for assignment. ... After the mental health assessment, an employee may be returned to the original duty assignment, reassigned to alternative duty, placed on temporary light duty or placed on administrative leave as deemed appropriate.”
Asked via e-mail Wednesday whether the issue of fitness for duty has ever come up in regard to Capt. Snyder, Police Chief Freeman Cooper issued a one-sentence, written response:
“The office of the Chief of Police will not respond to questions regarding the personal/private lives of any of the 700 employees of the Chattanooga Police Department,” he wrote.
Later Wednesday, the chief issued a news release through a department spokeswoman indicating that Capt. Snyder is protected under federal shield laws governing the release of medical information.
“I am fully aware of my responsibility as Chief of this department and I will treat this case as I do all others,” he said in the release. “I will uphold my commitment to fair and uniform policies and practices for all officers of the department not only because it is the proper thing to do but because it is the law.”
In an interview Tuesday, Chief Cooper said Capt. Snyder’s activities on Feb. 7 did not violate any laws or departmental policies. Therefore, he said, it was unnecessary to take any special action before she returned to work the following week.
Mr. Eilders said all personnel decisions are at the discretion of the chief, and it is impossible for him not to take special consideration with each case.
“Every officer is an individual, and every case is individual,” Mr. Eilders said.
Warning systems to identify problem employees are common among police agencies, said Jim Brown, associate director of the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc., an international credentialing authority for police departments.
In order to receive a stamp of approval from CALEA, agencies with 200 or more employees must have early warning systems to alert department officials to problems, Mr. Brown said. Employee assistance programs are highly recommended, he said.
“You try and correct it before it goes too far,” he said. “The purpose of the early warning system is to try to figure out the people with problems before (the media) figure it out. ... You’re saving the community from negative impact, whether it be from bad public relations or big fees from lawsuits.”
Chief Cooper has said Capt. Snyder’s activities during her personal time should not be subject to departmental scrutiny. The department’s policy stipulates that off-duty officers outside Hamilton County “shall be considered as acting in the capacity of a private citizen.”
The policy was revised in 2006 after the city paid to rehabilitate Officer Lydell Blue, who was off the clock when he was shot in the face breaking up a fight outside a Nashville sports bar.
But Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Max Templeton noted that a reality of the job of a law enforcement officer is being held to a high standard of conduct at all times, regardless.
“We’re the same off duty as we are on duty,” Sgt. Templeton said. “Technically, sworn police officers are never off duty. If somebody’s about to be hurt, we have to step in.”
Copyright 2008 The Chattanooga Times Free Press